“Sound of Freedom” has crossed $100 million at the domestic box office. The Angel Studios-distributed drama has sold over 8.9 million tickets and has shown little signs of slowing down as it enters its third weekend in theaters.
“‘Sound of Freedom’ has become the people’s movie,” stated Angel Studios Global Distribution SVP Jared Geesey. “It was chosen by over 100,000 people in the Angel Guild, fueled by untold tens of thousands through our ‘Pay it Forward’ program, and is dominating the box office as the result of a ground-up, grassroots movement of everyday people who are making this a historic success.”
The picture stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former government agent who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. “Sound of Freedom” opened with $14.2 million on its opening day, July 4, in 2,634 theaters and passed $41.7 million by the end of its long Tuesday-Sunday debut frame. It expanded to 2,852 theaters in week two, during which earned $19.2 million for an $85 million 13-day running total. It’ll expand to 3,287 theaters this weekend and should pass the $106 million cumulative total of “The Flash” over the next few days.
“This is the opposite of the top down system developed by Hollywood gatekeepers. We are empowering people to be part of choosing, funding, and sharing stories that amplify light and impact culture,” stated Geesey.
It’s also an example of the value, especially for theaters in uncertain times, of demographically-specific event films.
The Angel Guild is a community of over 100,000 people who are the most engaged in the Angel Studios network and vote on all eligible films submitted for distribution by the studio.
As previously reported in TheWrap, the Utah-based, crowdfunded studio has been building relationships with exhibitors at least since the special engagement screenings of “The Chosen,” a free-to-stream series about Jesus Christ that was brought to theaters by Fathom Events. The Christmas special earned $13.7 million in late 2021.
The audiences showing up for “Sound of Freedom” likely didn’t see the film instead of a conventional Hollywood tentpole, but arrived in theaters instead of not going to the movies at all. That’s a huge boon for theaters, since A) it’s a ticket that otherwise would not have been sold and B) the price of a large popcorn bought for “Sound of Thunder” costs the same as one purchased for “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer.”
